The Darkness in Our Veins (Ilvermorny)
by ni-vet-vem
Summary: Poppy Hayes has never been very popular and it doesn't get any easier when she almost becomes the first person to not be chosen by any of the houses during the sorting. Now she's back for her final year at Ilvermorny and she's ready to change things. But the year turns out to be a year of death, betrayal and danger. Was it just a coincidence that none of the houses wanted her?
1. 1: The Sorting Ceremony

**FROM A DISTANCE** , the hundreds of lit-up windows of the Ilvermorny castle looked like stars scattered across the evening sky. Poppy Hayes stared at it with awe. She'd heard endless stories about the great wizarding school of Massachusetts from her older, adoptive siblings, but never had she imagined it to be this breathtaking...

Poppy wiped her clammy hands on her school robe. It had once belonged to her adoptive sister and it still held the scent of her perfume. She didn't know if it was because of the sickly sweet smell or just having traveled by Portkey, but she suddenly felt sick to her tummy. Swallowing down hard, she shifted her focus.

They were standing in a clearing at the foot of Mount Greylock, the mountain on which the castle was situated. Except for a few old-looking street lamps, a handful of benches and a wooden sign in the form of an arrow saying 'Ilvermorny this way', there was nothing but trees and darkness surrounding them.

Poppy was standing amongst the students with whom she'd taken the Portkey with, but upon looking around she could see more and more students popping up. Some of the younger travelers started vomiting repeatedly upon arriving, but the older one's didn't seem bothered at all. They immediately went looking for their friends, greeting them with hugs and laughter.

Tilting her head to the side, Poppy watched them with curiosity. She'd never had a friend... Not that she hadn't tried to befriend the children from her hometown, they'd just never liked her enough to stick around. She'd never truly fitted in back home either, being the only adoptee in a family of five. But she hoped all that would change now that she was old enough to go to Ilvermorny. Surely, there had to be at least one person in the school who would like to be her friend.

Poppy nodded her head determinately. _Surely_.

"First years, gather in front of me! The rest of you, head to the castle and find your House Captain!" a raspy voice called out, magnified by the use of magic.

Poppy's head turned in the direction of the voice and found a grey-faced, small creature standing upon one of the benches. It had a large nose, long ears and a hunched back. It kind of reminded Poppy of the grumpy old man who lived across from them back home. The fact made her giggle as the first years around her scrambled to gather in front of him.

Poppy found herself pushed to the far back as the short creature started speaking again. "My name is Clarence," he began, his voice bored and monotone, "and I am Head Pukwudgie here at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am here to take you to-"

A girl with strawberry blonde hair stuck her hand up into the air, waving it eagerly to capture the Pukwudgie's attention. "Sir?"

Annoyed at being interrupted, Clarence sighed. "Yes, miss...?"

"Annabelle North, sir. And I was just wondering if, you know, the Pukwudgie who founded the Pukwudgie house is still here? Because my brother told me last year that he saw him once and rumors say that he is still alive, which would make him like 300 years old, but I don't know how old Pukwudgie's can get, so you know, seeing as you are a Pukwudgie and all, I thought maybe you could tell me?"

The Pukwudgie just stared at her and then pursed his thin lips into a smirk. "If I see William I will be sure to let you know, miss North."

The girl grinned brightly, nodding her head enthusiastically. "Thank you, sir! That would be very kind of you, I have so many questions to ask him, you see, like what he-"

" _Thank you_ , miss North," Clarence interrupted and the girl looked a little offended. "Now, your sorting ceremony will begin shortly, so if you'll all follow me!"

Poppy watched as the small creature vanished before her eyes and then reappeared a few benches over, by the wooden sign. The crowd of eleven year olds confusedly turned their heads to where he'd gone. "Now, form a line and enter in an orderly fashion, if you can..." He muttered the last part to himself and then held away some of the branches next to the sign for them to walk through.

The students looked confused as there was nothing there. No path and no carriages to take them to the castle, only more trees... But they did as they were told and slowly the line started moving forward. Poppy waited patiently at the back, mindlessly moving her feet as the line became shorter.

"Which house do you think you'll be in?" someone said suddenly and it took a while for Poppy to realize that it had come from boy behind her and that he was talking to her.

"Huh?" she said, turning around to face him.

He was a rather tall boy for his age with brown eyes and protruding ears. "You know, which carving do you think will choose you? I'm hoping for the Horned Serpent or the Wampus."

Poppy felt taken off guard by his question. Truthfully, she hadn't really thought about it. "I guess I'm just glad to be chosen," she said. She could see the disappointment in the boy's face and quickly added, "but I guess the Horned Serpent would be cool."

The boy smiled and nodded his head eagerly. "My mother was a Horned Serpent. She's really smart, working for the MACUSA and all," he told her proudly. "I'm Felix Graves. What's your name?" He extended his hand towards her.

Poppy shook his hand a little hesitantly. She'd only seen adults greet each other this way before. Perhaps it was a sign of the boy wanting to become her friend? "My name is Poppy, Poppy Hayes," she told him with a smile.

Suddenly, they'd reached the front of the line and she could hear Clarence clear his throat demonstratively. "Today, please," he muttered.

Poppy hurriedly turned back around and gave the strange creature an apologetic smile before walking under his arm and through the two trees. A moment later it felt as though something took a hold of her and pulled her along with a force that pressed the air out of her lungs. Seconds later, when she blinked again, she found herself standing on the grounds of Ilvermorny amongst the other eleven year olds.

Felix and the Pukwudgie appeared next to her seconds later.

"A portal!" the boy exclaimed, his eyes big with amazement.

"Indeed. Now, hurry up and follow me, we don't want to keep the Headmistress waiting, do we?" Clarence muttered, heading to the front of the group. He lead them up the stairs to the entrance doors and upon placing his palm on it, the two doors swung open revealing a grand, circular room. Resounding cheers were coming from inside as they expectantly filed onto the white, marble floors.

Poppy heard several gasps coming from the others in the group and as she looked around she found herself just as amazed. There was a wooden balcony running all along the floor above and leaning against it were all the students that had already been sorted. Beneath each of the four sections of the balcony stood a massive wooden statue representing the house. One of them looked just like Clarence, whom she noticed had now joined a group of other Pukwudiges by the left side of the room. On the other side stood, what Poppy presumed to be, the teachers. One of them, an old woman with bubble gum pink hair as short as a boy's, took a step forward and as she did so the room went quiet.

The woman looked at the students with a warm smile, her arms open in a welcoming gesture. "Ah, a warm welcome dear students! Both new..." her eyes swept over Poppy and the other first years, "...and old." Her eyes continued up to the balcony. "I am Headmistress Lovegrove, for those of you who didn't know, and I will be making sure that all of you..." she made a circular motion with her index finger towards Poppy and the others, "... are sorted into the house that fits you best."

Poppy thought that the Headmistress talked funny, as though she was performing a play, with her voice going up and down as she spoke.

"Perhaps, you will belong to the Wampus house, which represents the body and favors the brave and mighty warriors?" The Headmistress walked over to the first statue and lightly tapped its panther-like form with her wand. The carving immediately sprung to life and roared in approval.

Some of the first years stumbled backwards in surprise and Poppy held her breath, her eyes growing large in admiration. The students of that house cheered and applauded proudly.

"Or will it be the house of the Thunderbird, that of the soulful adventurers?" the Headmistress continued, her wand gently touching the giant bird as it started beating its wings, followed by the cheering of its students from the balcony above.

The old woman gracefully, almost as if dancing, moved on to the next carving. "Why not the Pukwudgie house, the representative of the heart, favoring those who heal that which have been broken?" The short, large-eared creature raised its bow and its students, along with Clarence and the rest of the Pukwudgies, cheered.

"And last but not least, the house of the Horned Serpent, the representative of the mind, favoring those with an aptitude for learning what they are yet to know..." Headmistress Lovegrove finished her speech with a fourth tap and the crystal on the serpents forehead lit up. The students of the house applauded.

The Headmistress stepped back into the middle, facing Poppy and the other eleven year olds waiting anxiously to be sorted. "Now, dear children," she began, clapping her hands together, "let's get the sorting started." She flicked her wrist and a piece of parchment appeared in her hand. "When I call out your name, please step out onto the Gordian Knot and wait for one of the carvings to choose you. Should, however, more than one carving show its approval... the choice lies with you." She grinned at them, before looking down at the parchment for a brief moment.

"Eileen Anderson!"

Poppy watched as a girl with black hair stepped onto the knot, her hands by her sides, trembling. There was a brief moment of silence before the Thunderbird started beating its wings and the Headmistress announced, "Thunderbird!" The girl jumped back a little, then grinned as the students above the carving cheered.

Eileen Anderson disappeared up the balcony to find her housemates and the ceremony continued. A few names later, the professor called out, "Felix Graves!"

The brown-haired boy next to Poppy hurried to the front of the group and took his place on the knot. A moment later, the Thunderbird flapped its wings followed by the crystal on the Horned Serpent lighting up and an excited murmur went through the crowd.

"Lovely!" Headmistress Lovegrove called out. "Now it's up to you, dear boy. Which one will it be?"

Felix seemed to be thinking it over for a brief moment, before announcing, "I choose the Horned Serpent!"

"Then the Horned Serpent it is!" the Headmistress called and the house cheered loudly as the boy ran up to greet his new housemates.

Poppy watched him a little enviously and before she knew it, the Headmistress had called out her name. Poppy's heart leapt into her throat and she wiped her hands on her robes a second time as she walked up to the knot. Staring up at the carvings she awaited their response. They seemed even bigger up front, she noted. She wondered which one was going to choose her. All of her adoptive siblings had been chosen by the Wampus, but Poppy was neither brave nor mighty... Perhaps the Horned Serpent would be a good match? She did like to read and learn new things, and maybe she and Felix could become friends?

Poppy could hear the people around her start to whisper amongst each other and she noticed that nothing was happening. None of the carvings were reacting.

"Oh my..." Headmistress Lovegrove mumbled to herself, clearing her throat a little uneasily.

Poppy's heart fell. Didn't any of the carvings want her? She felt the tears burning behind her eyelids as seconds became minutes. She'd never heard of this happening... Surely, everyone had to be picked by at least one of the houses? Poppy stared hard at the floor, her hands balled up into fists by her sides, heart beating faster for each second that passed.

Finally, the crystal on the Horned Serpent lit up, almost reluctantly. Seemingly relieved, the Headmistress called out, "Horned Serpent!" and scattered claps from the house could be heard. With tears now streaming down Poppy's cheeks, she headed up the balcony to join her housemates. She could see Felix giving her a small, reassuring smile from the back, but a moment later he was swept up by the attention of his new housemates.

Poppy was left standing alone as the next name was called.


	2. 2: Their Final Year

**"DID YOU SEE** that new professor? Professor Shane, or whatever his name was? He didn't look to be much older than us!" Neal Miller ran his hand through his deep brown curls, a bitter look to his face.

"Will you stop that? You'll give yourself an afro!" Annabelle North snapped, swatting his arm away. "Besides, that guy was definitely older than us. Didn't you see the stubble on his chin? And his toned body... Oh my, I swear, I won't be able to focus on anything but his flexing muscles during his lectures... I mean, it's pretty cruel of them, if you think about it, hiring a sexy professor during our final year just to throw us off our game."

Poppy repressed her laughter. "I doubt they hired him to 'throw us off our game' Anna," she commented, as they followed the rest of their housemates down the wooden stairs to the circular hall. The first years had just been sorted and lead into the next room to get their wands, which meant that it was now time for them to go and retrieve theirs since they didn't get to bring them with them outside of school.

"Whatever. The point is, that guy is hotter than an Ashwinder," Annabelle continued as they got in line. Neal stared at her in disbelief as they moved forward. "What the hell is an Ashwinder?"

"Seriously? Were you even present at all last year?"

"Hey, look! It's our turn!" Poppy exclaimed, trying to stop them from bickering. It seemed they hadn't done anything but, since they had arrived by Portkey an hour ago.

"Welcome back, miss Hayes," a voice suddenly said.

Poppy turned around to find the Head of Horned Serpent, professor Norcross, looking at her with a smile that didn't seem to reach her eyes. Poppy had always felt intimidated by her. There was just something about the way she would look at her that had always bothered her, as if she could see all her innermost secrets... Poppy averted her gaze, discretely wiping her hands on her robe. "Thank you, professor Norcross."

"Your wand..." The middle-aged woman said as she held it up between her fingertips. "Thirteen inches, made of yew with a core of rougarou hair, isn't that right?" Her grey eyes bore into Poppy's. Poppy nodded her head and reached out with her hand, her fingers enclosing around it's wooden surface. "Yes, thank you."

The professor held her gaze for a few moments longer and then turned away her head, gesturing towards the wooden barrel next to her. "All electrical devices in the barrel, please. You will get it back when you leave for christmas break in December."

Poppy dropped her phone into it, knowing there was no use in arguing. Not that she would be texting anyone, seeing how her only friends were in school with her, but it would have been nice to have it in case someone in her family decided to call. Not that they had before, but she didn't want to miss it if they did.

The no-electronics rule had been instituted last year when a student had accidentally posted a video taken during a Quidditch match on social media, which had resulted in MACUSA having to track down every single No-Maj that had been exposed to it and erase their memory. After that, all electronic devices had been deemed "a risk to the Wizarding community" and therefore been banned from all wizarding schools.

"Again? Seriously? We learned our lesson last year, you can't keep punishing us for what some stupid kid did..." Annabelle complained, before dropping two phones and a tablet into the barrel. Poppy looked at her incredulously and Neal raised his eyebrows.

The blonde shrugged her shoulders in response, rolling her eyes. "What can I say? My parents are workaholics who try to buy my love..." She then grinned and hooked arms with Poppy and Neal. "Come on, I'm starving. Let's go stuff our faces with delicious food."

The dining hall was double the size of the entrance hall; an elongated room with three domes in the ceiling. Four rows of round wooden tables were lined up throughout it, every table with its houses emblem on it, carved into the surface with delicate lines. The tables were, for the time being, filled to the brim with food, sweets and drinks and around most of them sat students in blue and cranberry robes, talking merrily amongst each other.

On Poppy's right side as they entered, sat Headmistress Lovegrove and the rest of the professors, looking out over the students. As Poppy's eyes swept over them, she accidentally locked eyes with the new, young, male professor. Her heart involuntarily quickened as his intense gaze held hers with a peculiar look she couldn't quite place. For a moment, time stood still as she found herself unable to look away. Then professor Shane's facial expression went back to normal and, as if nothing had happened, he leaned back into his chair, averting his gaze, thus breaking their connection.

Poppy gasped, feeling as though she'd just resurfaced from being under water. What had just happened? She mindlessly followed Neal and Annabelle over to one of the empty tables with the Horned Serpent carved into it. "I'm starving," Neal muttered as he sat down at the table, starting to pile food onto his plate.

"Me too," Poppy said absentmindedly as she stood with her hand on the back of the chair, about to sit down. She had a weird feeling in her stomach and she couldn't explain why, but she really wanted to turn around to see if the professor was looking at her.

"Hayes! I missed you at the sorting ceremony!" a voice shouted, snapping her back to reality. Poppy barely recognized it at first, seeing as it had darkened considerably over the summer, but then she saw his face a few tables down.

Felix Graves was walking towards her, grinning from ear to ear. As he came closer she could see the badge gleaming on his chest and she smiled. "House Captain, huh?" she said, not in the least surprised by the fact, seeing as how Felix was at the top of all his classes.

"Yup!" he said proudly, giving the piece of metal a little pat with his hand. "Better be sure not to break any rules this year though, Hayes, or I will have to give you detention."

Poppy laughed a little awkwardly, her hands starting to sweat. "Then I guess I will have to be on my best behavior," she said jokingly, but as soon as the words had left her mouth she regretted them. They sounded foreign in her mouth. Be on her best behavior? Who did she think she was? She had never broken a rule in her life.

Felix nodded his head, clearing his throat. "So..." he said, looking anywhere but directly at her. Poppy could feel the nervous tension grow between them and she wished she could just apparate out of there.

"Hey, Graves! Get over here and stop talking to that weirdo! Simons is just about to make the turkey explode!" called a guy.

Felix rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Ignore him, he's just being an idiot as always..." he said apologetically. Poppy smiled, pretending to be cool with it. "No worries," she said, but truth was that it always stung a little when they called her names. It really never got any easier, being an outcast.

Laughter rose from the table and Felix craned his neck to see what they were doing. "I should probably, um... you know," he said, pointing with his thumb towards his table.

Poppy nodded her head. "Of course. I'll see you in class."

Felix nodded his head and turned to leave, but before walking off he looked back at her and smiled. "It was good seeing you, Poppy." She smiled back, forcing herself not to look away and blush. "Good to see you too, Felix," she said and with that, he hurried back to his friends and was immediately swept up in what they were doing.

"Are you going to sit down or what? You look like an idiot," Annabelle commented a second later, painfully honest as always.

Poppy sank onto her chair, blushing. "Oh my god, what is wrong with me?" she muttered, burying her face in her hands. "Why does my brain always shut off when he's around?"

Neal took a break from devouring his food and looked up at her, eyebrows raised. "Well, obviously you have a huge crush on the dude."


End file.
